This week, we talked to an expert on SEO about all the questions you may have on maintaining a successful website with the best practices for SEO in 2024.
What makes a website SEO friendly?
SEO friendliness takes a lot of things into account. Keyword density and placement, properly using “ALT” tags (which is also important for ADA compliance), and context that is relevant. Meta tags (title/description) for search are also important.
What kind of factors do search engines consider when ranking?
Search engines don’t want to be scammed. They can tell when people are using gimmicks or tricks to skew their SEO scores. Every time the algorithm changes, and people freak out, it’s often because they like shortcuts instead of doing the work.
How can I find relevant keywords?
Chances are you didn’t invent the industry you work in. Use Google trends / search / keywords to find out what is relevant to the specific page you’re working on. If you’re targeting a local market, research that specifically and compare it with larger scale results.
Why is my organic traffic dropping?
Is your content stale? Is it relevant? Keep your content fresh. If you have a blog, utilize it.
How long will it take to rank on search engines?
Could be 2 weeks or 2 decades depending on your content (first) and SEO (second). SEO happens naturally to some extent if your copy is presented well.
How long should my content be?
Long enough. Sometimes people write novels, sometimes nothing. Present your content in a way that makes sense to humans.
How often should I be adding new content?
Is it good quality content, or filler because you feel like you need to be adding things? Go for quality over quantity but if you can manage both, great!
What are some common SEO mistakes I should avoid?
Don’t put 600 keywords on one page and then list every city on the planet. Keyword density targets are usually small. Overdo it and you’ll lose points fast. Don’t go changing your URLs to ridiculous long-winded keywords. For example, your about page is your about page and should simply be /about; it should not be /about-the-best-car-dealership-in-new-york.
Above all else, remember that your target audience is usually human. Your goal is to engage humans by engaging search engines to get humans to your website. If your website isn’t geared towards humans (simple & concise language), and focused on specific content, then you’re wasting your time.
For example, if I click a keyword in your paid ad for “ice cream” and your page is entirely about salad, I’m going to bounce. Follow the funnel logic (before funnels were a keyword) and SEO drives people to your website, and your website is supposed to convert them by encouraging them to participate (by communication, interaction, sales etc.).
Don’t fall for large company gimmicks that include services like monitored/recorded phone calls as part of their SEO package. Some companies charge many thousands of dollars and do almost nothing for you. If you want to monitor and record your incoming calls, get yourself a good phone service (most good business plans offer this anyway).
Finally, keep your websites fully maintained. Making sure your website is up to date will usually also keep things running safer and smoother. Outdated plugins or scripts can put your website at risk. Any visible risk can often be seen by crawlers, especially if there is a malware or other security issue. These things also affect the speed and reliability of your website, which can greatly impact your search performance.
Catch up with Josh:
https://www.facebook.com/flashydragonco/